Tajik woman with head scarf (file photo) (official website)
DUSHANBE, July 12, 2007 (RFER/RL) -- A court in Dushanbe has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a Tajik student against a government ban on Islamic head scarves in schools and universities, RFE/RL’s Tajik Service reported today.

The judge dismissed the case brought by Davlatmoh Ismoilova, a 20-year-old university student, on grounds that the documents prepared by her lawyer were legally flawed. Ismoilova said she would appeal.

The case is Tajikistan's first reported legal challenge to the ban passed earlier this year on Islamic head scarves.

Islam And Politics In Central Asia

The Khodji Mashrab Mosque in Dushanbe (TASS file photo)

ACTIVISTS AND AUTOCRATS: Eric McGlinchey, assistant professor of government and politics at George Mason University, told an RFE/RL briefing that Islam-centered political movements present the most coherent challenge to autocratic governments in Central Asia.